Street Theatre is a Strong Message

Hope these red tents campaign is successful. The cluster of tents will be a message that visitors can take home with them....a statement of what this event has cost us in terms of meaningful social programs.

A hollow statement...

When you consider the efforts that are going to made during the games to raise funds for Haiti, a protest by people who have access to basic food, shelter and clothing on a daily basis will ring hollow and be lost on the world.

But it is a form of non-violent protest, and a refreshing change from the type of chaos people within Pivot have been advocating.

Location Location Location

Brilliant idea!

Hope they camp out in front of all the Olympic sponsors like McDonalds, RBC, HBC, Rona, Vancouver Sun and many more who looked the other way while the IOC and VANOC pillaged our community.

This type of campaign will be much more effective than old school Olympic street protest and civil disobedience that always turns violent, costs taxpayers more money and is never effective.

Nice to see the tents are Coca Cola red, err, I mean Canadian Cheer Me On red.

Eh Oh Canada Go!

Political Suicide...

If Vision Vancouver councillors adopt this silly idea, it would be political suicide for the municipal team. It would be game over for Gregor and company.

That said, Vision Vancouver is not politically stupid and it's obvious that they won't touch this idea with a 10-foot pole:

The colour red is currently unavailable

Just reviewing VANOC's long list of trademarks...

reveals the colour "Red" is protected under VANOC's massive trademark umbrella.

In fact, they apparently have a lock on all primary colours. No can use.

Vision Vancouver

In my opinion, Gregor Robertson is a smart guy who has, so far anyway, stuck to his principles. He is smart enough to realise allying himself the Pivot or CUPE 15 would be political death.

I most sincerely hope that a Vision British Columbia party comes along to offer us a fresh vision (no pun intended) of British Columbia politics. I would hope it happens before the 2013 election or after the NDP's next defeat.

News 'Red Tent' Campaign Planned for Homeless during Olympics

Pivot is part of the problem in the DTES - they fall into the category of those that prey on the 'homeless'.

The ruling in Victoria was due to the 1200 or so homeless, and only 170 shelter beds. Not the case in Vancouver.

I'd be curious to get feedback from people whose countries have no social welfare system - Mexico, Brazil, China, Africa... See what their thoughts are when they find out these 'homeless' who are basically being prostituted by Pivot during the Olympics, receive 'free' money from the government, every month; and blow it on whatever addiction (drugs/alcohol), then have society provide them meals, clothes, medical attention etc. As an article in a recent issue of the Province stated - a form of enabling.

These tents at $100 per are worth more than the monthly gross income for some of the people coming to visit Vancouver.

If someone 'trips' over one of these tents - I guess Pivot will be looking at a law suit.

Sick Tactics by Pivot

Using the homeless as a political prop in a stunt that does little to help those they are trying to help is sick:

http://bit.ly/4rJsNk

why do they need permission?

I'm curious to know if/why they 'need' permission or are simply seeking Council approval?

I certainly don't understand why it's a 'silly idea'

Shocked by some of the callous responces

For many years now we have been all witness to people sleeping in the streets in all sorts of condidtions. From letters to the newspapers to many of my own guests from abroad the responce is always of disscust and shame. These folks need shelter. It is criminal to do otherwise. This is not an issue of "permission" or politics. Lets get these tents out no matter what!

enabling!!

I really don't get it. We have people sleeping in the streets, while others walking by have access to things most on this planet can only dream about. Here we talk about Haiti and other places on the planet were people have problems, politics, lawyers and mayors. Have we no compassion? I fear some of these attitudes is what brought us this plague of homelessness. Who would walk by one of these people and and NOT give them a tent!!!!

$100 for that dinky tent?

I have a hard time believing that that tent costs $100 to sponsor. Where is the rest of the money going to?

$100 for the tent

Oh lets have a big arguement about how much the tent costs. Let them sleep in the cold on the bare sidewalk while we have a discission if it's worth it. I shake my head in shame.

civicscene makes no civic sense

You're right civicscene/Jonathan, shaming politicians into doing anything is impossible.

That is exactly why I suggest PIVOT follow the money and shame shareholders of Olympic sponsors and partners like The Vancouver Sun, RBC, and HBC by camping out in front of their establishments with the red pup tents.

Vancouver's homeless have been used as pawns by uncaring politicians and civic leaders for years, so if as you suggest on your blog that this is just one more example it is worth it because it will shame Vancouverites on the world stage and remind them to vote for ethical leaders in the future.

No doubt Vancouver will look stupid and uncaring when the international news media and especially bloggers start to circulate in heavy rotation stories of our homeless, but it is too late to worry about optics.

The only other option would be to sweep the homeless under the rug and appease VANOC, but that would truly be heartless and cruel.

Righteous comments by the unknowing.

A lot of folks crying for homeless people have no idea why these folks call themselves homeless or why they are labeled homeless.
Go talk to them. Most are pretty good people. They are like the rest of us, grab whatever freebee's they can. A free red tent!! Gimmee one and where do you want me to set it up? I'll be there. Will there be a free lunch or breaky as well?

Our Canadian Identity

We have an opportunity to model for the world what it looks like to live in a country where people are free to speak.
As homelessness is a huge concern now in Vancouver, I am thrilled to hear of this campaign which is simply continuing the dialogue here in Vancouver on ending homelessness (in a very creative way).
This is what we do here as citizens who care about our fellow human beings.
I am not sure that homeless people, who are already suffering too much, should be the ones in the tents especially if there is the potential for conflict. I would love to see activists assuming that role on behalf of homeless people here.

Protest the Olympics

I salute every effort to protest these Olympic games. We are going to have to pay for this boondoggle no matter what the outcome turns out to be so as far as I'm concerned there's only one good outcome. And that's failure. That might sound harsh but let me say I'm not wishing this on the athletes, just the politicians and corporations that continue to inflict this financial burden on city after city, Olympics after Olympics. The athletes would be collateral damage. There's no way Campbell and his cronies should be able to strut around after the games claiming and what a great success they were and the world should be our witness. Maybe the next city wouldn't be so anxious to repeat our mistake.

Unbelievable Callousness

Some of the comments made on the homeless situation in B.C. are shocking to say the least. What do we do with the sick, addicted, elderly and others unable to fend for themselves? Oh, I just had a wonderful idea! How about gas chambers? Worked before, could work again.

red tent

why don't you ask the homeless if they would like to have one, and use it.
do a survey!
and let us know

Take your free tent to Stanley Park

The time to protest was before the Olympics. Don't shame the city now. The truly homeless could/should take their new tents to Stanley Park and hang out there. Not on our sidewalks.
Homelessness is/must be a federal problem, and can only be solved by increasing the taxes of the taxable for the benefit of the unworkable/won't workable.
The mentally ill should be taken care of in places dedicated to maximizing their health. The drug addicted need a whole other idea ... give them free drugs so they don't have to rob and wreak havoc.
Small living spaces like UBC dorms in the '60s seem to me to be an obvious solution. Shared bathroom/washroom facilites, private rooms, some shared, most not. Of course, there would need to be support staff, much more than the residence Don.
On the other hand, we can just keep bitching and complaining and doing nothing.
Hey, I'd rather live in Stanley Park than on the street outside a McDonalds. But the drug-addicted beggars can't beg from the squirrels, can they?

Marushka

How is homelessness a federal problem? Programs like welfare are provincial.

How silly....

"The time to protest was before the Olympics. Don't shame the city now. "

So the time to shame the city was **before**? when you weren't listening? I've been trying to get the city to listen for five years since before the plebiscite that Larry Campbell said he would ignore the result of anyway. So you didn't listen for 5 years, and NOW you want me to shut up and not **shame** you?

I couldn't. You're red-faced and undressed already, and it's not pretty. Betcha voted for Gordo and Harper too, didn't you?

Unless you're one of the 52% who didn't vote, which is a bit more likely. Pollyannas generally don't.

It's not just a federal problem, nor a municipal problem, nor a provincial problem, but an EVERYBODY problem. If you worked two incomes to pay for a house or paid even $1 more than asking for a property for sale, you contributed to the problem. Everyone did it, and everyone has to help fix it. No exceptions.

Bring it on, Pivot! I've sent my cheque already (because your credit card site wasn't working)

What can you say?

leftofcentre; You should reconsider your pseudonym.

teririch ; The people Pivot is helping are not "homeless" they are homeless, like they haven't got a home, they have to live on the street or in some day to day shelter. And do you seriously believe that any poor people from the third world are visiting us for the Olympics?

civicscene; Care to share the help you give the homeless?

Marushka; The city is doing a perfectly good job of shaming itself.

The right to camp in public or the right to shelter?

The guy at the centre of the lawsuit in Victoria (David Johnston?), had always maintained this was never about brick & mortar shelter for him, but everything about his freedom to sleep outside in public parks. In fact he avoided Victoria's homeless shelters like the plague, even if they had lots of vacant beds, referring to them as a kind of "concentration camp" - he'd not be forced to live in one, even for a night. Nor was he interested in having his own apartment because that would mean opting into a system he had no interest opting into. I had to admire this guy for his anarchist spirit. He certainly walked the walk. But it did make me wonder what this lawsuit was really about. The right to camp in public parks; or an interpretation of the Charter that expands existing language to mean the right to actual shelter? Any lawyers in the house wanna clear this up for me? Does the right to camp in public cease to exist once the number of social housing units available free to the homeless becomes available?

We see many homeless resist shelter beds, and there's no way they're gonna be forced in. So is Pivot really aiming to fight for the rights to camp in Stanley Park, or for guaranteed rights to brick & mortar shelter, or both?

brilliant! another awesome idea pivot.

I think this is a fantastic way to shine a light on a pressing social problem in a positive, constructive way. Great strategy to take advantage of the olympic media blitz. I hope it works!

The Monopoly on Sleep (RE: daytime shelter)

under law we are already protected- we do not need a 'national housing strategy'. The City of Victoria had appealed the Adams' ruling and 'lost' with the Appeals Court ammending the ruling to only take into account 'over night' shelter (an obviously biased move... they really don't like the idea of Canadians not having to pay to sleep if they don't want to). It has been challenged-

Statement of Facts (re: the 'Right to Shelter During the Day' appeal)

-

[1] On Monday, the 9th of February, 2009, David Arthur Johnston and David Michael Shebib were arrested for collection of multiple ‘no temporary shelter during the day’ Bylaw tickets.

[2] On the following Thursday, February 12th, after a half day trial, Provincial Court Judge, Blake, found that both were guilty and reserved sentencing until March 5th, 2009.

[3] On March 5th, David Shebib was ordered to pay his fines and given a condition to abide by the City’s restriction on erecting temporary abodes during the day. David Johnston, because of his ‘vow of poverty’, was given an order to complete 40 hours of community service, probation, and the same condition to abide by the City’s Bylaw.

[4] An application to appeal was submitted on March 24th, 2009.

[5] Wednesday, May 27th, 2009, Mr. Shebib and Mr. Johnston were granted leave to appeal, in the form of a trial de novo to allow appellant, David Shebib, to enter evidence of lack of daytime shelter beds within the City.

[6] On Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, at an adjournment hearing, the City’s lawyer admitted that the City does not contend with the fact that there is no daytime shelter beds.

[7] On November 25th, an application to re-designate the appeal from a trial de novo to conventional, as there was no longer need for additional evidence, was granted, the City agreeing to provide an affidavit confirming the lack of daytime shelter beds.

[8] On January 13th, 2010, the appeal was scheduled for early April, pending Mr. Johnston’s application to either forego the necessity for transcripts or have their fees waived, which is heard on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010.

[9] David Arthur Johnston and David Michael Shebib presume the ability to, conscientiously, provide one’s self with shelter enough to sleep, during the day, a civil liberty and, as such, to lawfully deny it would require a section 1 allowance or a utilization of the Crown’s Royal Prerogative.

[10] There is no s. 1 allowance and the Crown has given no notification that they’ve utilized their Royal Prerogative.

[11] The City presumes allowing the liberty to sleep during the night enough to placate the s. 7 deprivation of a perpetual ban.

They`re Here!

Big Media,really big media,Sports Illistrated.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/dave_zirin/01/25/vancouver/index.html

How about "Red Vans" or "Red Boats"?

Read yesterday on the National Post and CBC articles about turning an old warehouse in the DTES into micro-living accomadations. The lofts would be about the size of two parking lot spaces, would have foldup beds, small kitchen and bathroom, and would rent for $675-750 month. They would be about 270 sq feet in size. Can't mobile homes/trailers be purchased for $25 000 and financed for $300 a month? One would think that affordable accomadation could be scaled up quickly and cheaply if goverments were truly serious about tackling the problem of homelessness. "Trailer park/ parking garages" could be built above parking lot spaces to provide people a place to park their own trailers for a small cost. After reading about these microlofts the size of two parking spaces...does anyone know if the old Class V Queen ships that were retired from BC Ferry service 2 years have been sold yet? Wikipedia say the Queen of Esquimalt was sold to buyers in China (doesn't mention price)...but the article doesn't say if the Queen of Vancouver and Queen of Saanich have been sold yet. Those two ships have a car capacity of 338 and 360 respectively. And both also have ample above deck space for passenger seating, kitchen space and bathrooms for 1708 passengers and crew. If the old Burns Block warehouse is going to build units the size of 2 parking spaces...couldn't the two Queen ships be outfitted with a minimum of 150-200 micro living units in each ship? Why doesn't Vancouver utilize floating structures in order to affordably house the homeless on cheap/free real estate?

And as far as this "Red Tent" idea goes...those tents look pretty small and flimsy. Why not have people donate their old minivans and outfit those vehicles as a form of living accomadation?...you could even paint them red to make a point and park them in strategic areas. And these "Red Van-couvers" would likely be a safer and warmer option rather then small fabric tents...

Great idea, but...

Kudos to Pivot for this innovative idea, which will provide temporary relief from the rain and be such a public eyesore that it could invigorate the debate about housing and in that way help push for solutions.

It is not a solution in itself. Street tenting is going to do nothing for homeless families, for hygiene/illness, or to address the mental health issues that underlie much homelessness. The main beneficiaries, I think, will be the transient addict population -- this is just more incentive for them to come to Vancouver to facilitate their slow public suicides instead of rationally spending their income (i.e. your taxes). Indeed I can readily envision these shelters winding up in pawn shops almost instantly. If that sounds callous, so be it.

Good use for old red tent

I have an old red tent, I'm going to head out right now and donate it to the first homeless person that wants it.

Good luck on that

With the MSM in bed with the provincial government on the issue of homelessness there is serious doubt that this campaign will even get off the ground.The city will probably claim that the media center is exposure enough on the issue and not allow any tents at all.They don't have to win in court because the thing will be over before it even sees the courthouse door.The MSM is so involved in the Olympic movement that there is little doubt that they would give any exposure to the campaign even if it did get off the ground.If the homeless want any exposure during the Olympics they will probably have to go to prison for violating some kind of area restriction just to be seen.Chances are that there will be enough reporters in town that just putting the tents up in the DTES in numbers will be enough.It will have to be media from other parts of the world to cover this issue as the MSM has ceded their responsibility by climbing in bed with the Liberals.

How much is 500 x $50? OK,

How much is 500 x $50? OK, there's $25,000 that street people can make by selling the tents to Olympic visitors. Entrepreneurs? Yeah, they are.

Following news that the Police won't be harassing pot smokers during the Games, it looks like the Hell's Angels et. al. are going to make a gazillion - untaxed - dollars too.

I fail to understand why

I fail to understand why this campaign is exploitive of homeless people. If the purpose of the "red tent" campaign is to shine the international light on what is a national disgrace--homelessness in Vancouver and in other urban centres in Canada--and shame the federal government, which has the greatest capacity to raise funds, to delivering on a national housing policy, that would be a very good thing.

Apparently, it had significant impact in Paris:

http://networkeurope.radio.cz/feature/the-housing-crisis-in-france-is-emerging-as-one-of-the-presidential-campaigns-top--priorities